James - LHGRC ON TOUR VOL 1
I had never heard of the West Pennine Moors before our trip to Rivington. I’d never heard of Rivington (the place), although I had heard of their beer (priorities), and I had never run 30km before. I didn’t even know who else was going to sign up to the inaugural Left Handed Giant on Tour trip ‘up north’ before I signed up, but I knew Jay organizes good times, and with the LHGRC for the company it was sure to be a whole lot of fun.
In glorious sunshine, we gathered outside the Left Handed Giant Taproom with our tents, bags, snacks and an array of funky running hats. Some packed lighter than others… A quick pack of the van and the convoy headed off, complete with the precious cargo of ‘Code Breaker’, the collab beer that the folks at Rivington and LHG had been working on together.
In my mind I think I was picturing a rough patch of grass at the back of a light industrial estate on the edge of town for our camping spot - how wrong I was! The Rivington brewery and taproom is on a beautiful old farm with views over the reservoirs and up to the hills and famous Rivington Pike. We were met by Jack, one of Rivington’s brewers, who showed us to our camp and received our very well stocked gift bags, complete with coffee from Kickback, a hat and shirt from HOKA, vital snacks (from Outdoor Provisions, Barebells, Supernatural Fuel and Tenzig) and LHG merch too. Thanks kind sponsors!!!
We pitched our tents and made our way to meet with the Rivington Run Club members who took us out for a cracking little evening leg stretch around the local area. Known as the ‘Little Lake District’ to Victorian tourists due to the number of reservoirs, the area became a country park and there was even a replica of Liverpool Castle built within the grounds. Needless to say, it made for a stunning 7km loop…almost as nice as Eastville Park.
We made our way back to the brewery as the sun set across the reservoir, and arrived at the rural taproom in time to try some of the food offerings from the four (!!) different vendors. We settled in with members of both run clubs and enjoyed some of Rivington Brewery’s fine wares before getting a behind the scenes tour of the brewery too.
The next morning we were met with sunshine and the prospect of a longer trail run. Luckily, we had Alice from HOKA on hand with the latest trail shoes to try out. The forecast was for the temperature to keep rising se we had to pack extra water before we split off in to our two groups, one going for a 10k loop and another heading out for 30k.
Trail running is my absolute favourite and I was blown away by the beauty and variety of the route that the Rivington Run Club led us on. We had forest, hills, rivers, trackways, hills, reservoirs, country roads, landscaped gardens, more hills, and I loved it! The terrain was a little challenging in parts and the rising sun made it increasingly challenging to stay as a single group so we decided to split in to a 22k group and let some of the others push on for 30k. It is clear that the Rivington crew love their elevation and they are good at it too!
Whatever distance was done, everyone was pleased to see the brewery come in to view. One of my personal favourite parts of distance running is being able to eat everything afterwards, it seemed I wasn’t the only one! A beautiful evening spent playing games, making new friends and enjoying one or two (or many) delightful beers on offer before heading back to the camp feeling sun-kissed, full of food and beer, and with smiles all around.
On Sunday morning after coffee and breakfast, we took a last stroll around the woods and lakes of Rivington before saying our goodbyes, loading up the vans and heading back to Bristol in convoy.
It was such an awesome few days away. I am so grateful to Jay for organising it, to all the sponsors for the goodies, for Jack and all at the Rivington Brewery for being the best hosts, the entire Rivington Run Club for sharing their amazing trails (and ales) with us - I hope they enjoy the harbour loop just as much on their visit…!
Most of all I am super grateful for the time in getting to know more of the Left Hand Giant Run Club members, you are all fab and I am so pleased I turned up that wet Tuesday last year to find my people. Roll on the next adventure!